


Empathy

by Ubernuub242



Series: Emotions are hard if you have no soul [2]
Category: Don't Starve (Video Game)
Genre: ALSO STILL NO EDITING I POST THIS SAME NIGHT I WROTE IT LIKE AN INSOMNIAC RIDDLED BAWSSSSSSSS, Arson, Fluff and Angst, Gen, It's not that dark trust me QwQ it's okay, LET! WORMWOOD! AND! WX78! BE! FRIENDS! DAMNIT!, Suicidal Tendencies, depression (implied I guess?)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-09
Updated: 2020-12-30
Packaged: 2021-02-23 12:23:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,337
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23078131
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ubernuub242/pseuds/Ubernuub242
Summary: "Hi, robot friend!" Wormwood greeted WX78"DO NOT CALL ME THAT"
Relationships: Wormwood & WX-78 (Don't Starve), Wormwood & WX78 (Don't starve)
Series: Emotions are hard if you have no soul [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1658620
Comments: 15
Kudos: 72





	1. ERROR

**Author's Note:**

> Hey so quick warning I think cuz I don't know what's necessarily triggering for people but...  
> there is kind of implied depression??? and suicidal tendencies??? No actual suicide though, and the major character death is quick (and impermanent) and there isn't anything exceedingly graphic  
> just thought I should let y'all know just in case <3  
> if there's anything else I should warn for pls just hmu!

It was a regular day, like any other

like any other

like every other

The sun shone bright, the dirt hummed in harmony with life and living and endless friends. Butterflies fluttered aimlessly, never getting too close, unlike the bees who simply ignored Wormwood as they went about their business. Wormwood liked bees.

Sadly the moleworms wouldn't peek out of their houses till dusk, but that was okay. His friends needed their rest and that was okay.

Pig men and bunnymen alike would also never get too close, even as Wormwood offered them nice things to eat like meat and berries.

That was okay.

"ROOT." A loud commandeering voice snapped Wormwood back to the present. The light shone glossy on the finely polished chassis of the robot. Wormwood found himself staring at the glinting metal for a second as the automaton continued.

"THIS IS THE LOCATION," WX78 pointed at the clearly marked ground, a light grassy turf that shown almost too green against the dull sands of the desert, "GET TO WORK."

Wormwood blinked as he observed the large circle, the middle of which had a flingomatic. Then he remembered to reply.

"Okay!" he chirped at the robot who was already walking away, a net in hand. Who knew what friends they would bring back!

Wormwood hummed to himself as he opened his backpack.

"Happy birthday!" He shouted as he gently patted the wild seeds he had collected into the ground.

"Happy birthday! Happy birthday! Happy birthday!"

Every single one got the same enthusiastic treatment, Wormwood made sure of it! He wanted them all to know they were friends and that he was nice! It was too often that some things wouldn't let him tell them he was nice, like the cats who ignored him and the birds who fled him or tried to eat him! And WX78 who didn't like that stuff.

So! He greeted every single new friend as well he could! So they were friends! And they would always be friends!

-

By the time he ran out of seeds dusk had long since fallen and night was threatening soon. He stopped for a short while to eat some berries he had gathered from some other friends before. They were so nice to help him, so nice!

Once his stomach finally stopped grumbling, he stood up tall and examined his work. a huge circular patch of friends, tons of them already sprouting a bit! He smiled to himself, happy with his work.

happy with himself

happy

-

His lantern was almost empty by the time he got to camp. Luckily, his frien- his...

Well, WX78 was there! With the fire well lit (but not too big!) so Wormwood turned off his lantern and set it down in his personal chest.

WX78 had insisted Wormwood only be in his side of the camp so long as they were working together, so Wormwood restrained himself from going to the crockpots which were in the robot's camp. He could've made his own but he couldn't bear the thought of burning his friends, his dear dear friends!

So, with the last of his berries in hand, Wormwood sat down next to his chest and his good friend (whom made the berries!) and ate the rest of his supply.

WX78 said nothing from across the camp, merely staring into the fire. Their side was far bigger than Wormwoods, with a kitchen and the fire pit and at least five chests! the alchemy machine was shared between the two though, as it was in the center of the camp. 

Wormwood sighed and leaned against the green branches of his faithful friend. Everything was great, he thought, much better than before.

better than when he was alone.

"..."

WX78 was silent.

It seemed the night would be passed awake by the two beings, neither of which required sleep to function.

Wormwood closed his eyes and opened them over and over as he stared up into the dark night. Aside from the slight light cast on him and his friend, there was hardly a difference.

open

closed

open

closed

open-

Wormwood peered at WX78

The robot was staring at the fire still.

open

closed

open

Wormwood peeked at the robot again.

Their arm was thrust into the flames of the fire this time. Wormwood lept up and rushed to the edge of his side of camp.

"Robot frie-" He stumbled and stuttered, "What you doing?!" He was only a few feet away from the fire, peering at WX78 from behind the alchemy engine.

WX78 said nothing as they continued to hold their arm in the flames. They had an odd look on their face.

"Fire is bad! Stop!!!" Wormwood shouted from behind the large metal machine. WX78 didn't even glance at them. 

He would be yelled at, Wormwood knew this, as he raced across from the alchemy engine to the automaton and shoved them away from the fire. WX78 fell away, hitting the ground with a clunk, safely out of the flames. Wormwood quickly stepped back from the fire himself as he bit his leaves in worry, watching the robot stay still.

"You okay?" He asked them as they continued to lay on their side. Oh!! "I know what helps!" Wormwood rushed back to his side of the camp and took out a honey poultice.

He scrambled back, and applied it to the robot's arm.

"There!! I made it better!" Wormwood cheered himself, hands raised in triumph as he stood back from the robot.

It took him an empty quiet moment to realize his frie- WX78 hadn't gotten up yet.

Wormwood's face creased in worry. This wasn't what happens, this is different. WX78 should be getting up or at least blaring at him to stay on his side of the camp.

What could he do though? How did he fix this? Was this his fault? Wormwood crossed to his side of the camp and sat down against his friend again and stared at WX78, who blankly looked at the ground they lied on.

The rest of the night passed in silence.

-

"Thank you, friends!" Wormwood said as his backpack quickly filled with asparagus and carrots and all sorts of other good things. His friends had grown up big in no time and their presents would really help! Winter was nearing, and with that came sleep for all his friends. Sleep and dreams...

He walked back to camp as usual. WX78 was still there. On a straw mat, now. Wormwood had laid them there the third night that they refused to move.

"Robot frien-" Wormwood cut himself off and started again, "You better now?" 

It was a question he had asked every day for the past week. And every single time was met with silence.

"Friends gave us belly stuff for winter!" Wormwood continued cheerfully to his friend, opening the backpack to show them, "See?"

WX78 didn't move.

Was this the new usual? New same for every day?

WX78's icebox had plenty of room for the veggies. The only food item taking up space was the rest of the honey stash, which Wormwood had been giving WX78 so they wouldn't starve.

Suddenly a small sound broke the silence. Wormwood immediately snapped up from the icebox. His friend was still in the same position, but made another noise.

"What did you say!? What??" Wormwood yelped as he rushed to WX78's side.

Another small noise.

"Want something? That what you said?" Wormwood asked. There came no reply.

"No worries, I will get something for you!" Wormwood said to his companion.

-

Berries, ice, meat, teeth, stingers, fish, gold, planks, booster shots, gems, hearts, pigskins, and silk.

No matter what Wormwood offered WX78, they didn't talk or move at all.

Winter was cold. Winter was lonely. Winter was the loneliest worst season. His friends were all asleep and Wormwood feared that included WX78.

A hat on their head, a vest around their chassis, and a stone against their side. The fire was loud and big near them as Wormwood tried to keep WX78 warm. Maybe that was what they wanted? Heat?

The lack of friends gifts mean Wormwood needed to rely on ice and meat for food. Boiled monster meat seemed to do just fine for him and WX78.

He sighed as he tossed a piece of turf onto the fire. It rose up big. He didn't like it big but he needed it to last.

"What you want?" He asked WX78, not for the first time, "I'll get it for you!" He said to the robot, who lay as still as the settled snow around them.

Wormwood bit his lip as he clutched his thermal stone closer.

-

Spring was welcome! His friends came back! Wormwood was so happy! Though all his buzzy friends were rude now, they probably had wanted to sleep longer, like WX78. Oh well.

As Wormwood walked back to camp, his arms heavy with gifts from his now awake friends, he hummed a little tune.

"Hi again, we got presents!" He greeted WX78, who now had an umbrella propped up above them.

He didn't expect an answer, so he continued about his business. The fridge was almost full to bursting! Wormwood grinned. WX78 will be so happy if- when they wake up! Wormwood grinned bigger.

-

"...CK..."

Wormwood jumped up from where he had been lying on his friend. He raced to the other side of camp to see-

WX78 still lying in the same position they'd been in since autumn.

"...I.."

Wormwood stood breathless as staticy sound burst from WX78 again.

"...I FEE.L.. EM..PTY..." The words were loud and fuzzy, as though being smothered by something.

"...IT'S W..R.ONG.... I FEEL..." a small pause "..WRONG"

"Can I help? What can I do?" Wormwood asked as his voice finally returned to him, "Please please please!" He begged, though not sure what for exactly.

"...DON'T KNOW....."

"I can try! I will try!" Wormwood said, sinking to the robot's side, "I'm so happy, robot friend, you woke up! You-"

A sudden extreme burst of static billowed from WX78's speakers. Wormwood gaped and fell backwards in panic.

-

WX78 didn't say another word for the rest of spring.

-

Summer was hot, too hot. Wormwood was glad to be able to interact with his buzzy friends now, though!

Everything felt better again, better and better but also not.

He was worried, worse and worse for his friend. What did WX78 need to wake up?

At one point he thought maybe his friends could help.

Wormwood returned to camp early that day, after finishing planting more friends. WX78 was lying still near the new, cold blue fire pit. They were surrounded by flowers and grass tufts, so still the butterflies dared to land on them.

"Hi robot friend and pretty friends!" Wormwood greeted them, but kept his distance. The butterflies didn't like being close to Wormwood so he didn't want to scare them away.

"It's a good day. Lots of birthdays today!" He said proudly as he showed WX78 his bag, empty and lacking the stockpile of seeds he had gathered. "We'll be fine, okay?"

The butterflies fled as WX78 sat straight up, static bursting from their speakers.

" NOT FINE, SOMETHING'S WRONG SOME-" A pause. Wormwood stared wide-eyed, feeling happy and scared and too too many other things.

Finally WX78 spoke again.

"I'M WRONG." Their head turned slowly to Wormwood. "SOMETHING IS WRONG AND IT IS ME."

"What?" Wormwood said, dumbstruck.

"I-" WX78 clenched their fists, "I WANT SOMETHING BUT I DON'T UNDERSTAND." Their chassis began to rattle ever so slightly as the robot.... trembled?

"I WANT EVIL AND VIOLENCE AND TO RULE THIS WORLD." They spoke hesitantly, "BUT THERE IS SOMETHING ELSE. AND. I. DON'T. UNDERSTAND."

"What is it like? Please?" Wormwood asked, a note of desperation in his voice.

"IT IS LIKE- IT FEELS-" A loud whirring noise filled the air, then a small 'click' and WX78 turned to one of the flowers surrounding them.

"IT FEELS LIKE THIS." WX78 picked one of the flowers and crushed it in their hands. The petals, crumpled and soft, fell to the ground.

Wormwood stared at where the petals landed. WX78 stared at Wormwood.

Then, another whining, whirring noise and WX78 got up. Wormwood watched them as they dropped the cold thermal stone that had been laying on them for who knows how long. They left the umbrella that had been shielding them from both rain and sun. 

They began to walk away into the biting sandstorms...

"Wait!!!" Wormwood sprinted across the camp towards WX78, who kept their back to them, but did stop. Wormwood skidded to a halt beside them.

"I know that want." Wormwood said, "Don't know its name but I know it."

WX78 said nothing.

"It's when you lose a friend you need back! Who did you lose?" Wormwood asked

WX78 stood aloof a while longer, mechanical whirs barely heard above the storm's wailing.

Then..

"I NEVER HAD ANYONE TO LOSE." WX78 said, "I DON'T NEED ANYONE."

And then WX78 began to walk further and further away into the storm.

"No no no no no!! No no no!" Wormwood panicked, rushing back to grab the thermal WX78 had left in camp. Wormwood raced in the direction of where he thought WX78 had gone. The oasis storm was thick and filled his mouth and eyes with sand. He pressed against it, desperate to catch up to his friend before they succumbed to the heat.

Perhaps it was sheer blinding panic, or maybe the sandstorm's roar, that prevented the hounds calls from reaching Wormwood.

The first hound was all it took, its red gem's flames quickly overtaking the living plant.

-

Wormwood dropped to the ground with a thud. He was back in camp.

Before he could register anything else though, something had clamped around him!

"AAA!" He screamed in fear! He pushed viciously against whatever was holding him, stumbling back to see WX78, who was staring at him, hands raised in... hesitancy? apology? concern?

"You..." Wormwood blinked, 

"You're okay!" He exclaimed and rushed back into the hug.

WX78 put their arms around their friend.

"...I AM OKAY."


	2. Internalize > Analyze

Summer was a good season.

The sandstorm was uncomfortable for organics and the dense heat promised no unexpected rainfalls. 

Granted this also meant no lightning storms and overcharging but they would find a way around that.

"Going to Roar Bug!"

WX78 turned from the fishing pond to see Wormwood sling his backpack over his shoulders and give a hearty wave before marching into the storm. Their gaze lingered only a minute, watching the root disappear in the dusty gloom, before they turned back to the fishing line they had cast.

Just a few days ago they had finally made up their mind, to attempt a hard reboot and see if that fixed their... Problem.

They never even got as far as the end of the desert. When they heard Wormwood get overcome by hounds they made a decision because it was their right and their own decision based on WX78's OWN FREE WILL AND NO ONE COULD MAKE THEM DO ANYTHIN-

They didn't want to think about it, didn't want to analyze their actions, to turn the past over and over for answers.

WX78 idly ground their consumption modules together.

It was all about what THEY wanted to do anyways. That plant had no control over the evil unfeeling robotic soon-to-be overlord of all organic life, aka WX78.

The line still wasn't catching anything. The robot lifted the fishing rod from the pond and stomped around to the other side of the water.

They cast the line out again.

What the root had said... That they ERRORkneERRORw ERRORhow WX7ERROR fERROR ERROR ERROR ERROR ERROR

WX78 stopped grinding their consumption modules together as they realized the noise they were making probably meant something was getting damaged by the constant usage.

"Eesh, I never took you for the 'flowers and grass' type of killer robot."

WX78 turned to see a soot-covered woman with pigtails leaning against the alchemy engine, smirking at the surrounding foilage that Wormwood had planted.

"WHY ARE YOU HERE" They demanded, setting down the rod and taking out a spear.

Willow put her hands up. "Hey I'm not here to steal your stuff or nothin'!"

WX78 didn't put down the weapon.

Willow rolled her eyes at the automaton "Good grief!" she took her lighter out and began flicking it off and on idly, "Listen, the others sent me here to just... make sure you were keeping up your end of the deal."

"I HAVE."

The arsonist raised an eyebrow, "Are ya sure? Cauuuse we ended up losing half our tents thanks to you!"

"..." Wormwood had been too busy taking care of WX78 and the camp to attend to the giant bug beast. In fact, it seemed he had no idea about the Antlion until WX78 showed him it and how to sate its foul temper.

WX78 squinted down at their spear for a moment before looking back at Willow.

"BUILD BETTER TENTS."

At this Willow frowned. WX78 noted she stopped playing with her lighter, instead holding it steady with the flame dangerously close to the alchemy engine. She opened her mouth to speak, when suddenly something slammed into her.

"New friend!!!!" Wormwood shrieked as he hugged her.

The enigmatic metal of WX78's faceplate warped into a grin as Willow yelped in surprise and tried shoving the living root off.

"Get away from me, creep!" She yelled, finally managing to push him away, "Ugh!"

Wormwood stepped away, obliviousness painted clearly on his still overtly cheerful face. WX78 stopped smiling.

"Jeez, what in the hell are you?" She glared at the root, hands balled into fists. Fists most notably lacking her distinct lighter.

The three of them realized this too late as they each turned to see the new brilliant blaze that was once the oasis camp.

"aw fuck..." Willow groaned.

"I AM GOING TO MURDER YOU." WX78 blared.

"NOOOOOOOO!!!" Wormwood wailed.

WX78 began chasing after the arsonist, who ran into the fire, leaving their crying rooted friend behind.

-

"Hey have either of you two seen uhh..." Winona sucked in breath as she searched for a name, finally settling on "the gal with the pigtails?"

Wickerbottom pursed her lips as she shared a glance with Wolfgang. The two were sat on logs by the cold fire pit, one with a book in hand and the other with a half finished plate of pierogis. Both turned to look at the young woman.

"You mean little ghost girl?" Wolfgang asked.

"Nah, nah, she's like good at wrecking things."

"Oh, yes," Wickerbottom nodded understandably, "I believe you mean our dear Wigfrid!"

"....No?" Winona winced, "how many people here have pigtails again?"

As if on cue, Willow burst through the gate, bruised beaten and battered. Everyone in the camp rose in shock, Wolfgang's plate falling to the floor.

"....Kill!" She gasped for breath as she ran to hide behind Wickerbottom, who stood speechless as the arsonist grasped her arms and turned her to face the main gate of the camp.

"Robot!" Willow panted "Killer robot!"

Wickerbottom narrowed her eyes at the approaching automaton just as they burst through the gate, spear raised high.

"I see negotiations have gotten out of hand." She muttered to herself, "No matter!"

The old woman held up her book, adjusted her glasses, and began to read-

"Oh dear I almost forgot, Wolfgang do avoid the firepit." She cautioned the strongman before continuing to read.

Everyone in the clearing besides Wickerbottom began to sway, even WX78's pace slowed as they neared, and then with the many sounds of various bodies hitting the grass, the old woman was the only person left standing in camp.

"Well now, I suppose I should have expected this," Wickerbottom mused to herself, snapping her book shut. The robot had fallen mere feet away from herself. Luckily Wolfgang had heeded her instruction and lay safely on the grass, but Willow did end up falling into the cold flames of the endothermic pit. Oh well.

"Now, what to do..." She tapped her chin with one finger as she thought before noticing there was something still moving.

From the gate to camp, someone was peering in.

"Feel free to enter dear, I was simply dealing with our troublesome neighbor!" She called. She suspected the figure was probably Wilson or maybe one of the children, that's why she was surprised to see a sniffling, new, and rather leafy face.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> YAYAHAHAHA I AM NOT DEAD HELLO  
> far more different from last chapter, we got a pace to set and places to go! Let's see what these two do now their camp's kinda kapoot (And maybe on the way see what's up with the other survivors? ;)) P.S. don't worry we'll get to moar sappy stuff smtime soon!  
> P.P.S LOL PP  
> P.P.P.S ALL COMMENTS GIVE ME JOY THANK YOU


	3. The End.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Important announcement at the end of this chapter, tw for cp mention

....REBOOTING

SYSTEM CHECK

CHEMICAL ENGINE- STABLE

MENTAL UNIT- ERROR 

EMPATHY MODULE NOT FOUND

TROUBLESHOOT? Y/N

N

CONTINUING SYSTEM CHECK...

MOTOR FUNCTIONS- STABLE

AUDIO INPUT- STABLE

VISUAL INPUT- STABLE

PROCEED WITH START UP? Y/N

Y

STARTING UP...  
-

With a sharp crackle their audio input sprang to life and suddenly they could hear a heated argument.

"-Not like it was on purpose! And anyways, don't they deserve it? The camp's full of pits!" A whiny voice shouted.

Motor functions went online but were impaired by an external force.

"Be that as it may, the entire summer base has been lost.-" A much older voice replied- "We're fortunate enough that the antlion will soon recede, but rebuilding may take the rest of the year."

WX78 opened their eyes to find themself bound to a signpost in the middle of the large camp.

"I DEMAND TO BE RELEASED!!!" WX78 shouted.

All eyes turned to them.

"Friend is awake!" shrieked a guttural voice as Wormwood sprinted across the camp towards him.

Before he could reach the robot, however, he was scooped up by a pair of strong arms.

"Leafy thing, do not go near!" Wolfgang said, "Is very mean robot!"

WX78's attention was snapped away from the overgrown root as Wickerbottom stepped into their view, standing so close they could count all the creases in her forehead. The old woman spoke,

"Five tents, one crockpot, a full crop of dragonfruit, and a portion of the wall." She tut-tutted, "What is your excuse for this, automaton?"

WX78 stared at her in rare silence, save for the gears in their head clicking away and the faintest of buzzing in their wires.

After waiting a bit, the old woman shook her head and tut-tutted again, "This means our contract has been violated. The proceedings are as such," Wickerbottom cleared her throat and began to rehearse from memory,

"You will singlehandedly work to replace all damaged property and lost or stolen goods. Normally you would also repay in an amount of honey and/or fuel, however your camp is... unuseable," She sighed, rubbing her left temple, "Due to this drastic alteration, I am willing to forgoe the payment in return for your partaking in this camp's duties and chores. You may also temporarily use one tent and select camp resources to a highly restricted and monitered extent."

"WHAT ABOUT YOUR ARSONIST, WHAT DOES SHE HAVE TO DO FOR ME?"

"I'm not going to do anything, you're the reason our camp got wrecked!" Willow shouted at them from where she sat at the cold fire.

The librarian glanced at her before turning back to the robot.

"At the same time that you will be working on the main camp, she shall be doing not only her usual duties but also getting you the main resources required for rebuilding your camp-"

"What!? That's not fair!" Willow interrupted, but was quickly hushed with a stern look. The old woman adjusted her glasses,

"Upon completion of your side of the contract, you will be given all the resources she has gathered for you."

WX78 narrowed their eyes, "AND WHAT ABOUT ALL THE PLANTS? SHE WILL REPLACE THOSE AS WELL?"

"Yes, you will get your crops back-"

"NO," WX78 interrupted the librarian, "THE FLOWERS."

Wickerbottom raised an eyebrow, then glanced behind herself at the strongman and the plant-thing, now joined by Wilson who had returned from his most recent excavation of the ruins. He was showing a shiny gem to the newest member of the survivors.

She looked back at the robot with a faint smile.

-

OKAY SO People on AO3! I have an important announcement to make (I, me, the author! this is not part of the story lol)

I am going to be deleting all my works off of AO3 and moving everything to fanfiction.net (as well as posting the remainder of this chapter on there, this is only half of it ^-^)

The reason is because AO3's Rules/Terms of Service (or lack thereof) have allowed a very bad thing to fester here. This site has become rampantly used by people who write and consume explicit content/porn of minors (aka children, real or fictional, it doesn't matter.)

If this is upsetting to you, I repeat that I will be moving all of my current fics to Fanfiction.net, where I will be writing under the same username (Ubernuub242) and will continue to update my current fics.

Everything I have here on AO3 will be deleted in a month. Nothing will be orphaned, it will all be gone. I do not want to leave my fics to gain traffic on a site that refuses to moderate and expel pedophiles. (there are a host of other problems as well, but this is the most prominent that I've seen)

If you think I'm overreacting and that my doing this is just an annoying action that won't stop any of what I'm opposed to, well, sucks for you. I couldn't care less. This is not about changing the entire site, because I frankly highly doubt that would happen, but rather about abstaining from taking part in a community that grooms and exploit minors.

If AO3 changed to exclude child porn then maybe I would stay, but the owners will not listen. So I am leaving.

I would urge you all to do the same, however I understand that there are complicating factors involved and I will not judge those who would remain.

I will not be replying to any comments.

Goodbye and thank you for reading!


End file.
